“ A few days before Christmas Eve 2014 my son-in-law’s sister was out here visiting from Canada. It was her first time in Australia and as most visitors do, they ask about our snakes. I’ve lived in the country all my life, here in Georgica and I would say I’m snake aware but I’m not frightened of them. Well snake aware most of the time. Anyway, she asked about snakes and I said “I don’t know anybody who has been bitten by a snake, that’s how uncommon it is.”
“Several days later on Christmas Eve I was expecting 15 people for Christmas dinner the next day so was busy preparing all day. My husband was finishing off the pumpkin salad so I ran down to the garden to get some herbs for him. It was about 5.45pm, a hot day and I raced down in my thongs. I felt something prick my foot and I didn’t even look because the day before I had pruned a Thai Coriander which is quite sharp and dropped a bit. As I ran around the garden bed I thought it might have been a jumping ant or a bee. I looked at my foot and saw one puncture mark and thought it’s not a snake because there was only one puncture mark.
I collected the herbs and as I was leaving the garden I was struggling at the gate. I could feel my head starting to spin and the blood rushing up into my head like a tidal wave. My vision was blurring and I thought I was having a stroke. I knew I had to get to the house and take my blood pressure. I was aware all the time I’d been bitten by something but I was trying to ignore it. I was disorientad as I walked past my husband in the kitchen. I didn’t say a word, tried to take my blood pressure and I couldn’t. I yelled out to my husband to help me take it and told him I was feeling really funny. Between us both we managed to take it and it was normal so I ruled out the stroke. I said, ‘Something stung me on the foot!’ and he looked down and said…’Oh F#@k!!!’ I can still remember that vividly as he doesn’t swear much. He didn’t tell me at the time but my foot was purple. He knew straight a way it was a snake.
Years ago my husband was a snake catcher for National Parks and Wildlife so he had been taught what to do in case of snake bite. We even had a chart on the wall with first aid for snake bite. We were snake aware but he went into total panic and rang the hospital. He couldn’t remember the ambulance number..000, (laughs).
He must have rung our son who arrived straight away and he bandaged the limb to the knee. He wanted to splint it but for some reason I didn’t want him too so I kept it still. I still had all my senses but I was in agony. I had a violent headache and violent stomach cramps and I couldn’t open my eyes as the light hurt and then I started vomiting.
When the ambulance arrived they took the bandage up to the thigh and marked a cross on the bandage where the bite was because they don’t want to remove the bandage until you’ve had anti-venom. They bundled me into the ambulance and I vomited all the way to the hospital.
When we arrived it was all systems go. The pathology person did a swab of the wound to identify the snake which turned out to be a Tiger Snake. That’s why it’s really important not to wash the wound if you’re bitten. I was so ill and they couldn’t canulate as with a Tiger snake bite you bleed. You lose your clotting factor so the veins were leaking around the canular.
The reason the bandage works so well is the venom doesn’t travel through the veins and arteries. It actually travels through the lymphatic system which is just under the skin. The anti-venom obviously saves your life but it made me very sick. I went into anaphylactic shock for a week, highly allergic and I had to have adrenalin and cortisone. At one stage I looked up and there were 9 people in the room. I thought this must be serious, I might die. I felt like I’d just handed myself over, I felt safe funnily enough.
I remember someone from the hospital telling me they treat more snake bites here than any other hospital in Australia. I don’t know how true that is but they are certainly good at it.
Tiger snakes are supposed to be rare in these parts. There are a lot in Tassie and Victoria but they are a shy snake so people don’t see them. They eat frogs so are found more around damp, swampy areas. They are as venomous as a Brown Snake I think but browns are more agressive and tend to live more so around human habitation as they eat mice and rats. I’ve been told we don’t have Tiger Snakes in this area but I can assure you we do. I didn’t find the snake so he’s probably still there (laughs). I always wear my boots now.
I went to a talk on snakes and the man asked the question to the audience, how many people were bitten by snakes in 2013? and the answer was 2,000 and only 2 deaths. Wordwide in the same year it was 50,000. We have very good treatment here for snake bite. If you live reasonably close to hospital and your first aid is prompt it is very likely you will survive. Last summer I remember a woman died after being bitten in sand dunes in Perth I think it was. They interviewed her husband and he said they had walked back to the car. The sad thing is he should have left her there and run for help.
I was sick for a long time after and really it’s only now that I am feeling good. The funny thing is I’m not frightened anymore.”